Mortgage Applications Drop – but what is the full story?

The Wall Street Journal reported that mortgage applications dropped 9% last week, but that doesn’t mean that the housing market is cooling. This drop was fueled by rising interest rates (up to 3.9% this past week – the highest since May of 2012) and a drop in applications to refinance. However, according to NAR, the Mortgage Bankers Association also reported that new applications to purchase (the leading indicator of future home sales) increased last week by 3%.

Read the full articles here: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/05/29/mortgage-applications-drop-9-last-week

And here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-mortgage-applications-down-9-last-week-mba-2013-05-29-7485179